RANCHO CUCAMONGA – A family feud over the fate of the Joseph Filippi Winery is poised for an out-of-court settlement.

The case, in which minority owner Gino Filippi seeks to dissolve the winery, was originally scheduled to begin on Monday. However, winery lawyer Robert Schauer said the two parties late on Friday reached a “tentative settlement.”

Judge David Williams has given the Filippis 30 days to negotiate a deal. The next court date is set March 4.

The dispute between majority owner Joe Filippi and his brother, Gino, has been brewing for four years. In 2007, Gino was fired from his duties as vice president, which spawned a lawsuit that includes dissolving the winery.

Gino sued his brother for an alleged breach of fiduciary duty and accounting, and breach of employment. Joe countersued, accusing Gino of a breach of fiduciary duty.

Up until now, negotiations had not been fruitful. But on Friday, it appears both sides moved closer to a compromise and could avoid the dissolution of the venerable winery.

“We seem to have an agreement. The attorneys have to write it all out. It’s amicable,” said Joe, the older brother who owns 55 percent of the winery’s shares. “I’m going to buy him out if it all goes forward.”

Joe said he could not discuss any details of the settlement.

“I don’t want to jinx it,” he said.

Gino, who owns the remaining 45 percent of the shares said he’s “cautiously optimistic.”

“There’s options on the table that need to be discussed,” Gino said.

However, without a settlement finalized yet, Gino’s attorney Orlando Villalba said he could not rule out the case going to trial or rule out the possibility of the winery being dissolved.

“We’re hopeful,” Villalba said. “At the end of the day, Gino is trying to get a fair result. We’ve never wanted to dissolve the winery.”

Neither side would discuss why talks are going well now despite years of stalemate but both attorneys say Judge Williams put a lot of effort into jump-starting the negotiations.

“(Williams) did a remarkable job bringing the parties together,” Schauer said. “It’s good news. It’s good news for Gino. It’s good news for Joey.”

Schauer said he expects a settlement can be finalized in about two weeks.

“We’re in the process of starting to work on it in the best interest of all the parties,” he said. “Everybody is working in good faith. If the settlement goes through, the winery won’t be dissolved.”